DLTK's Animal Crafts for KidsMexican Bird Rattle Craft

In Mexico, paper mache rattles are
popular during New Year's celebrations. The rattles are shaken to welcome the generous spirits of the new year and to drive away the unhappy
spirits of past years.

I have included a template version and a paper mache version of this craft. the template version is a lot quicker and the paper mache version
is more "traditional".

Template Version:

Materials:

toilet paper roll or cardboard tube,

popsicle stick

masking tape

small rocks, dry beans or unpopped popcorn.

Printer and paper

scissors,

something to color with,

glue

Craft Instructions:

Cover one end of the toilet paper roll with masking tape.Suggestion
from a viewer: "I
had my students make the DLTK-Kids' Mexican Rattle Craft. We made
the template version, and I made one modification. We made a small
circle of paper and taped it over the toilet paper tube to keep the
"rattle" materials from sticking to the masking tape."

Insert the popsicle stick inside the other end of the toilet paper roll and tape it
on firmly -- tape it lots!

For an extra firm handle, tape one popsicle stick inside the
toilet paper roll and tape a second popsicle stick (overlapping the first)
on the outside of the toilet paper roll. Then wrap some tape around
the two sticks to make them into one stick. You'll be able
to glue the template pieces overtop of all this

Put some rocks, beans or popcorn inside the toilet paper roll and cover the other
end with masking tape.

Print out the craft template of choice.

Color (if using the black and white version of the craft) and cut out the template pieces.

Glue the large rectangular piece on first to cover the tube. Toilet paper rolls come in different sizes, so if you find the
rectangle is a bit too big, just trim it down. If you find it's a bit too small,
just cut out another small piece to fill in the gap.

Glue the smaller rectangle along the bottom of the toilet paper roll

Fold the beak template piece in half and on the dotted line and glue to
the center of the bird's head.

Glue the eyes onto the face and the feathers onto the top of the head.

Templates:

Close the template window after printing to return to this screen.

Set page margins to zero if you have trouble fitting the template on one page (FILE, PAGE SETUP or FILE, PRINTER SETUP in most browsers).

Instructions:

Cover one end of the toilet paper roll with masking tape.Suggestion
from a viewer: "I
had my students make the DLTK-Kids' Mexican Rattle Craft. We made
the template version, and I made one modification. We made a small
circle of paper and taped it over the toilet paper tube to keep the
"rattle" materials from sticking to the masking tape."

Insert the popsicle stick inside the other end of the toilet paper roll and tape it
on firmly -- tape it lots!

For an extra firm handle, tape one popsicle stick inside the
toilet paper roll and tape a second popsicle stick (overlapping the first)
on the outside of the toilet paper roll. Then wrap some tape around
the two sticks to make them into one stick. You'll be able
to paper mache over top of all this.

Put some rocks, beans or popcorn inside the toilet paper roll and cover the other
end with masking tape.

paper mache the toilet paper roll with 2 layers of newspaper,
paper towel or toilet paper... The paper towel or toilet paper make
a nice texture and I find them easier to paint.

Let dry.

Paint the project to look like a bird and let dry

Glue
wiggly eyes on the bird or you could use paint to make eyes if you
prefer.

Use orange construction paper to make a beak (you can look at the template version for an idea of how to form the beak).